Minsk Agreements are three years old with no significant progress observed

Photo: novayagazeta-vlad.ru

There years have passed since the singing of the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements. As of 2017, most of the measures had not been implemented. The agreements have helped to relax the tension in the conflict zone, but the sides are still shooting at each other and are blaming each other for the shootings.

Ukraine keeps declaring its commitment to the political-diplomatic settlement of the conflict in line with the Minsk agreements but in early 2018, its Supreme Rada adopted a Donbass reintegration law, a document qualifying Russia as an “aggressor” and an “occupant” and, according to some experts, capable of complicating and even ruining the peace process.

The Russian Foreign Minister has repeatedly disproved Ukraine’s “occupation” claims and insists that Russia is not a party to the conflict, does not have anything to do with the events in Donbass and would very much like to see Ukraine overcoming this crisis. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Donbass reintegration law will foil the Minsk process.

Now the future of the Minsk agreements is vague. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, the Normand Four heads are not going to meet shortly as they have no agenda to discuss.

Most experts believe that 2017 so very little progress in the Minsk process. The only achievement was swap of POWs on the eve of the New Year. Political experts note that under current political conditions in Ukraine, the conflict in Donbass will hardly be settled before 2020, when the country is to elect new president and parliament.